Friday, December 18, 2015

At the moment, I'm in a rented house. While I'm grateful to have a place that welcomes my dog, it's not my house. More specifically, it's not my kitchen. The house is over 50 years old, and it still has the original electric wall oven from the '60s. The oven works, but it's always a challenge to figure out the temperature. After nearly ruining a number of baked goods, I purchased an oven thermometer, and found the temperature could be as much as 50 degrees off. I still have to figure out how long to preheat it so the temp can be stabilized.

So, the Anadama bread is supposed to bake at 375°, but I believe it spent most of the time at 425°, with a finish at 325°. I'm surprised it turned out as well as it did! But, one of things I learned in culinary school was that times and temperatures are mere guidelines, and that you, the baker, are the master, and that means paying attention to what's in the oven and adjusting the parameters as necessary.

That said, this is one delicious bread, especially with the variety of seeds. Years ago I had made an Anadama bread from my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook. It was good, too, but this bread has Character.

During the kneading process, I did have to add some additional flour since the dough was very un-doughy, but that didn't seem to matter. I also mixed all the non-wet ingredients together first, then added the warm water while the mixer was working. It's my go-to method, irregardless of the actual instructions.

Thanks to Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms for giving the Babes an opportunity to make an updated classic. To be a Buddy, copy the recipe from her website and send your results to her by the 29th. The roundup will follow soon thereafter.